Merry Xmas!

Hey everyone! My first Christmas in Peru was quite an experience. The traditions here are more different here than I had previously thought. First of all, the majority of the celebrating is done on Christmas eve when families get together for midnight dinner and then drinking and talking all night long. I learned a new verb that is very important in Peruvian culture, amanecer. This verb literally translates to "to dawn." In the U.S. only the day can "dawn" but here in Peru, people can too. I didn't realize how seriously they take their staying out all night until I had to politely excuse myself at 3 am due to a stomach ache and they looked at me like I was crazy for leaving before the sun came up. My host family came in around six when the day literally was dawning.
Dinner was excellent. It is traditional to eat at twelve but we were invited to two different dinners so we ate at eight and then again at twelve. The massive quantities of turkey, hot chocolate, and paneton (a Peruvian version of fruit cake) were most likely the cause of my stomach ache. After dinner number two we started the traditional passing of the glass where everyone sits in a circle and passes around one glass and one beer. I actually enjoy this tradition because it makes drinking very communal. When the music came on everyone wanted to see me dance so I did my best cumbia with my host sister while everyone else stayed in their seats and watched. I was shy at first but proud to be the entertainment for my entire extended family.
Christmas day was much different than it is in the United States. First of all, they do not know the Santa Claus "myth." They have Santa Claus memorabilia all over the place but they don't know about the flying reindeer or the gift delivery (most likely because most people can't afford gifts). I explained our traditions to my family and even put gifts out under the tree when I got home at 3 am.
Instead of opening gifts and eating a big brunch with family, I found out that people here spend their Christmas drinking, dancing, and napping. When I went out for a walk around 11 I ended up being invited into a house where the people were incredibly curious about my purpose here. After sharing a bottle of wine and a couple of beers (all being passed around in true Peruvian form), the old, senile uncle started telling me he wanted to be my godfather and baptize me. I decided to stop tiptoeing around religion and explain that I am not Catholic and that, in fact, many people in the United States are not Catholic. This concept surprised them and I don't think my new "tio" totally understood. Since I wouldn't let him baptize me he insisted on taking me to the market to buy me earrings. The woman who sells earrings hadn't arrived so I dodged that bullet. The rest of my afternoon was spent relaxing with my host family similar to any Sunday afternoon.
Although it was neat to see the Christmas traditions here, I definitely thought a lot about home. I miss everyone a ton and I look forward to hearing from you. I have really started to settle in here and it has finally hit me that I will be here for two years. Sometimes that seems like forever but for the most part, I think it will fly by. I hope everything is well back at home! Keep me posted!